The Manchester Evening News is asking for your help in supporting a vital lifeline of a charity in the run-up to Christmas
Mustard Tree is a wonderful charity which aims to help everyone find a safe home(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
As days get shorter, temperatures drop across the UK, and more people are forced to make the impossible choice between heating and eating, there is one charity fighting to help people living in poverty across Greater Manchester.
Mustard Tree is a homelessness and poverty charity which works throughout the year to help people to find settled homes and improve their overall wellbeing. While Mustard Tree has a huge demand all throughout the year, Christmas is a particularly tough time for those living in poverty. This year, the Manchester Evening News is asking for your help in supporting such a vital lifeline of a charity.
We have set up a dedicated Go Fund Me to help raise money for Mustard Tree in the run up to Christmas. Any donations, no matter how small, will help the wonderful charity to continue its vital work and help more people across Greater Manchester.
So who exactly does Mustard Tree help? The charity has an open-door policy for those living in poverty of any scale. This could be supporting people getting off the streets, or it could be helping those suffering from isolation poverty – who need help getting out of the house and seeing other people – or those living in over-populated homes.
Mustard Tree is open to anyone in Manchester suffering from poverty of any scale(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
In October this year, Mustard Tree saw record-breaking numbers of people across its three sites in Ancoats, Little Hulton and Eccles, with nearly double the number of support meetings in October compared to earlier this year in April. And Mustard Tree is only expecting things to get tougher in the new year as January and February are usually its busiest months.
How does Mustard Tree help?
Across all three sites, Mustard Tree offers food discount schemes, a welcoming and affordable café where people can get a much-needed break from the cold, and a community store offering discounted furniture, white goods, electricals and clothing.
All three sites run a ‘Food Club’, a discounted grocery scheme. Depending on circumstances, people are either asked to offer £3 in exchange for ten items, or are issued credit and can have the items for free. Although Mustard Tree receives some food donations, 90 per cent of this food has to be bought themselves. And they can’t do this vital work without funding.
As well as offering in-the-moment support for those in crisis – the staff at Mustard Tree work to help equip people for a better future by teaching skills to help them get jobs. This includes clubs and classes such as learning computer skills, improving their literacy and managing bills. Amazingly nearly 100 people have found new jobs this year with support from Mustard Tree.
Here is the timetable for clubs and sessions at Mustard Tree’s Ancoats site (Image: Mustard Tree)
And in addition to clubs and classes, Mustard Tree runs fantastic training schemes to help people gain skills to get them into employment. Longsight resident Brian Duffy spoke to the M.E.N. about how his traineeship has helped to plug a gap in his CV and open him up to new industries that he may not have considered before. Read more about Brian’s story here.
Already in 2025, Mustard Tree has helped 350 people into homes who would otherwise be living on the streets, and almost 700 families have been given a helping hand for their new start with free furniture.
Brian Duffy is a Freedom Project Trainee at Mustard Tree’s Ancoats site(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
This Christmas we are hoping to help raise £10,000 to help their mission this winter. Please donate here.
What could your donation provide?
Here are some examples of what your donations could provide for Mustard Tree:
- £10 could pay for warm clothing donations to a client
- £20 could pay for a weekly bus pass for training and interviews
- £50 could feed a family for a week through our Food Club
- £100 could fund 1-2-1 support sessions for help with bills
- £500 could equip a trainee for a work placement
Mustard Tree runs regular art sessions to help those suffering from isolation poverty(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)I can’t afford to donate, what else can I do to help?
We know that times are tight for everyone and donating money isn’t always possible, and there are other ways that people can help.
Mustard Tree accepts donations for furniture, white goods, food for their Food Club, clothing, bedding, curtains, sheets, pillow cases, small electrical items and kitchenware among others.
And at this time of year they are calling for donations of warm clothes, toys for their annual toy drive, and you can find a winter wish list on their website.